Besides the obvious of giving to your favorite charity, NPR has a good article on how financial donations are really the best way to help, fair trade shopping is another fun way to help out with a cause when you live far away from the problem. I have a list of my favorite charities here, who almost all are working on the emergency and long term situation in Nepal now.

I had a look around at some fair trade sources online that work with Nepalese farmers and artisans, companies that make social consciousness central to their mission. I found these shops to be pretty good. All the more, I actually like what they’re selling and would buy these items anyway.

Handmade is back in vogue and what better way to shop than to buy something that gives back? What are some other fair trade and artisanal boutiques that you like to buy from?

When I’m back at home in Pennsylvania, one of the shops I love browsing in is Jasper & June, located along the scenic Delaware River in Frenchtown, New Jersey and pictured here in this post. Subtitled “A Giving Boutique”, shop owner Tracy houses jewelry, journals, housewares and clothes that compete with any other boutique in town, all handmade articles that support different causes around the globe. And in my opinion, her boutique is one of the cutest in the area. Check her out online or if you’re in the area, stop in and say hello. It’s only one hour and a half outside of New York, a perfect weekend get away!

While I’ve never been to Nepal, rightly so it’s been on my travel list for a good long while. Those mountains, those sweeping tea field vistas, bright textiles and a forever smiling people. It’s hard not to fall in love with this place before you’ve even been there, which is why Nepal has been on my mind all the more. So if you’re still considering a feasible way that you can help with the recent disasters, why not take the day and go shopping!